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The Office of Special Counsel is investigating more than three dozen claims of whistleblower retaliation at the scandal-rocked Veterans Affairs Department. The 37 cases OSC is investigating span VA facilities in 19 states. They include VA employees who say they've been retaliated against for disclosing a range of misconduct, including improper scheduling practices, the misuse of agency funds and inappropriately restraining patients, according to OSC.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the ranking member of the Finance Committee, is calling on President Barack Obama to nominate a permanent director for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The top spot at the patent agency has remained vacant since former director David Kappos departed the agency in February 2013. In a letter to President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Hatch said the vacancy "hampers the agency's ability to influence policy and make long-term plans."

For only the second time this year, all of the funds in the Thrift Savings Plan finished the month in positive territory, according to new data from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. It was the strongest month for the TSP — and Wall Street — since February

The Sept. 30 deadline for Congress to deliver a complete fiscal 2015 budget plan is still about four months away. But with a lengthy summer recess spanning nearly the entire month of August, that leaves fewer than 40 working days for the appropriation committees on Capitol Hill to finalize agency spending levels. That has some budget watchers already raising the possibility of a stopgap continuing resolution to fund government operations.

Agencies are struggling to fill gaps in their succession-planning efforts, according to a new survey. Many of the HR professionals surveyed said their agencies aren't planning to invest in key succession-planning initiatives. And even where they are taking action, too many agency managers are taking a piecemeal, "siloed" approach, according to experts.

Nearly nine out of 10 federal employees are satisfied with the Thrift Savings Plan, according to a new survey published by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which manages feds' 401(k)-style retirement accounts. Meanwhile, the TSP board is inching forward on a decision on whether to adopt a mutual-fund window.

A bipartisan House bill would reform federal tax law so that federal law-enforcement officers and firefighters can access funds from their 401(k)-style Thrift Savings Plans when they're eligible to retire without facing a penalty. Jon Adler, national president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, called the current situation "one of those glaring inequities that needed to be addressed and fixed."

Are federal budget and staffing shortfalls — particularly among the federal government's acquisition workforce — fueling a climate of mistrust between the government and its contractors? Experts told Federal News Radio as part of the special series, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees explore the importance of communication in building trust.

A measure included in the massive Defense policy bill approved by the House Thursday would ensure agencies maintain the flexibility to bring federal retirees back on board on a part-time basis. An amendment to the 2015 Defense Authorization Act, introduced by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), extends the authority for agency heads to rehire retirees without specific approval from the Office of Personnel Management.

As part of Federal News Radio's special series, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees three federal employees at different stages in their careers — one a newer, younger employee, another who recently came from the private-sector, and the third a 40-year veteran — shared their views with Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on how to restore in the federal workplace.